Garden-Inspired Pizza Challenge

For some end-of-the-summer fun this week Garden Corps held a garden-inspired pizza-making challenge! Our interns divided into two teams and each team designed a pizza concept and recipe using fresh produce growing in our gardens. The objective was to conceptualize and advertise the tastiest pizza, and then creatively promote it for advertisement on the Urban Roots’ blog. The youth brainstormed for ideas, went to the gardens to harvest produce, developed a marketing blurb and then cooked the pizzas in Nutrition Corps that afternoon. And of course, the eating followed! It was a fun and creative day.

Below we have each team’s promotional ad and list of ingredients for you to enjoy:

Team Awesomeness: Palace Pizza
Today’s Special: The Summer Bang!

Hey You! Yeah, you! Looking for the perfect pizza to have before the summer ends?! We have the perfect one! It’s called the Summer Bang! It’s so good, you won’t believe it’s veggie. It’s got a variety of tasty and delectable veggies that will make your taste buds ecstatic! To start, we’ve added peppers. Not one, not two, but THREE! They consist of Barbie bell peppers that are just the right amount of savory. Along with Jimmy Nardello peppers that will send your taste buds into a flavor nirvana! Paired with purple jalapenos that will add the perfect amount of spice that’s nice. To match, their beautiful color, we’ve added eggplant to the mix. We also included a pint of juicy black cherries and sun-gold variety tomatoes. The onions in the pizza add such a perfect taste of sweetness that you will cry tears of joy. The herbs are so good! Enough said…oh yeah! We have garlic and kale that combine for a one-two punch to make it a knock-out! And lastly, our secret ingredient is red-wine vinegar infused with basil and garlic that will add a ka-BOOM to your pizza. And did we mention that everything is locally grown and cooked by youth, including the vinegar? This pizza has the perfect combination of wholeness & flavor!

Ingredients:
– 4 bell peppers (Barbie) and 1 Jimmy Nardello pepper, julienned
– 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
– 1 cup eggplant, diced
– 5 leaves basil, chopped
– 1 cup onions, sliced half-inch thick
– 3 leaves kale, chiffonaded
– Edible flowers, as decoration
– 2 tsp. red-wine vinegar
– 2 cloves garlic, minced for glaze
– 2 tbsp. olive oil, for glaze
– 2 cups cheese

TEAM CRAZE: Spicy Crust

Tired of that fat and greasy pizza? Try out special spicy crust pizza. Unlike that pepperoni and sausage pizza, ours is sweet and spicy, loaded with amazing nutrients. Our produce is organically grown (though not certified) and harvested with our own hands, so trust us, we’re feeding you the right way. Our special spicy crust pizza will give you a satisfying feeling. OH YEAH! Take a bite and we’ll make sure you fall in love with a little bit of spicy/sweet and a mix of rainbows to eat. The yummy flavor that you’ll taste, we’ll make sure it’ll fall in place. Mmmm…mmmm. What makes this pizza so good to eat are the local and loved veggies that we use for this original piece. It was made by youth because we like to cook healthy food and add a little sound like kaboomshakala! So you can come back and get the PERFECT pizza.

Ingredients:
– 2 stalks basil, minced
– 2 cloves garlic, minced
– Fresh sage
– 1 can tomato sauce
– Sweet Italian peppers to mix into dough
– Onions, sautéed until caramelized
– 4 small bell peppers, diced
– Large tomato, diced
– 4 chard leaves, chiffonaded and sautéed
– 3 stalks cilantro, minced and sautéed
– ¼ pint of borage tossed on right before pizza comes out of oven